2017 Bsl/mbl Challenge

Hello guys!

I am new here. I used to lurk around the boards for so long but this is the first time that I have activated my account.

Recently I have had a number of set backs and I feel that I totally hate my hair at the moment. I think I need some inspiration and a supportive environment so I'll join this challenge if it's not too late.

So about my hair:

It's a messy combination of natural, relaxed and texlaxed. Right now I hate the texture and I'm not sure if I want to texlax, transition to natural, do a BKT, or something else. I think that my natural texture is overly frizzy to the point of being shapeless. Anybody knows of any tricks to reduce the frizz/enhance the curls other than chemical treatments?

In December my hair was just grazing BSL, but the ends were already damaged from a previous relaxer, so a week ago I cut random chunks of the damage off my hair. I still have a few inches of damage plus now my hemline is a funny mess. I'm back to APL with some lead hairs hovering over BSL, and one single lock extending just beyond BSL (had to mention it because it looks funny)

I have a chronic ongoing problem of shedding and my hair is now much thinner than it used to be 2 or 3 months ago, and I have no edges left. I still have no idea what exactly the problem is but i know for sure that my hair is going to continue to fall off until I'm left with no hair whatsoever on my head. I just don't know how soon this process will become complete.

My regimen:

I don't know what exactly I'm doing now. I LOVE to wash my hair and this is so detrimental because it's so fragile from the damage and keeps breaking with manipulation plus the shedding is a total nightmare, any tugging and the hair comes off in clumps. But I just want to keep washing it. I even comb it with every wash nowadays when in the past I used to finger detangle solely.

What I truly want to do is to wash once or twice per week maximally and to keep the hair in a bun continuously to protect the ends, and to keep the bun messy in order to avoid traction on the edges, but I hate the non-sleek look. I also don't know if I can stop the frequent washing.

My goals:

  1. To go back to grazing BSL

  2. To find a way to wear my hair that hides how thin it is, hides the bald edges (somehow), doesn't look totally unkempt, and doesn't embarrass me in any other way
My starting pic:

pT01iP5.jpg


And this is what I want to go back to from December:

EdDY3Ns.jpg
 
Alma Petra said:
Hello guys!

I am new here. I used to lurk around the boards for so long but this is the first time that I have activated my account.

Recently I have had a number of set backs and I feel that I totally hate my hair at the moment. I think I need some inspiration and a supportive environment so I'll join this challenge if it's not too late.

So about my hair:

It's a messy combination of natural, relaxed and texlaxed. Right now I hate the texture and I'm not sure if I want to texlax, transition to natural, do a BKT, or something else. I think that my natural texture is overly frizzy to the point of being shapeless. Anybody knows of any tricks to reduce the frizz/enhance the curls other than chemical treatments?

In December my hair was just grazing BSL, but the ends were already damaged from a previous relaxer, so a week ago I cut random chunks of the damage off my hair. I still have a few inches of damage plus now my hemline is a funny mess. I'm back to APL with some lead hairs hovering over BSL, and one single lock extending just beyond BSL (had to mention it because it looks funny)

I have a chronic ongoing problem of shedding and my hair is now much thinner than it used to be 2 or 3 months ago, and I have no edges left. I still have no idea what exactly the problem is but i know for sure that my hair is going to continue to fall off until I'm left with no hair whatsoever on my head. I just don't know how soon this process will become complete.

My regimen:

I don't know what exactly I'm doing now. I LOVE to wash my hair and this is so detrimental because it's so fragile from the damage and keeps breaking with manipulation plus the shedding is a total nightmare, any tugging and the hair comes off in clumps. But I just want to keep washing it. I even comb it with every wash nowadays when in the past I used to finger detangle solely.

What I truly want to do is to wash once or twice per week maximally and to keep the hair in a bun continuously to protect the ends, and to keep the bun messy in order to avoid traction on the edges, but I hate the non-sleek look. I also don't know if I can stop the frequent washing.

My goals:

  1. To go back to grazing BSL

  2. To find a way to wear my hair that hides how thin it is, hides the bald edges (somehow), doesn't look totally unkempt, and doesn't embarrass me in any other way
My starting pic:

pT01iP5.jpg


And this is what I want to go back to from December:

EdDY3Ns.jpg
Click to expand...
:bighug: I'm sorry your hair is in distress. I'm hope the ladies in here can help. Even though I know you say it is thinning, it looks very pretty in the pictures you shared.
 
-Pre-pooing with my Marshmallow Root and Slippery Elm Combo mixed with Paul Mitchell The Detangler and AVJ

-Shampooing with Bask & Bloom Gentle Herbal Cleanser - I really like this cleanser a lot because it gives a tiny bit of suds and cleanses just like it's name says - gently. Plus it smells nice too for a herbal cleanser.

-Deep Conditioning with Bekura Vanilla Whiskey followed by APB UCS.

-Leave-in Bekura Tonga Mousse and/or NG Sweet Plantain Leave-in

-Plaiting my hair up in 4 big celies and wigging it for the week
 
I clay washed my hair with a kaolin mix today, left on for around 30mins. This was not the mix to detangle with. I followed with a fermented rice water rinse (left on for 5mins). I finished with shea butter on my ends, and diluted KCCC for my wng.
 
faithVA said:
:bighug: I'm sorry your hair is in distress. I'm hope the ladies in here can help. Even though I know you say it is thinning, it looks very pretty in the pictures you shared.
Click to expand...
Oh thank you so much Faith! I really hope that I'll get some insight into things through being here on the forums. The thinning situation looks pretty desperate but we'll see...
 
AbsyBlvd said:
I clay washed my hair with a kaolin mix today, left on for around 30mins. This was not the mix to detangle with. I followed with a fermented rice water rinse (left on for 5mins). I finished with shea butter on my ends, and diluted KCCC for my wng.
Click to expand...
So ummm what is the function of the kaolin mix? Would you say that it helps with curl definition?
 
Alma Petra said:
So ummm what is the function of the kaolin mix? Would you say that it helps with curl definition?
Click to expand...

I use clay as my main form of cleansing/ conditioning. Clay definitely helps with curl definition. It was my first time using kaolin clay so I wanted to see how it would perform on my hair. It was weird but not bad. With this mix, my coils appeared tighter than usual (than with bentonite or rhassoul). There was no slip, so my hair felt a bit odd and I couldn't detangle like I normally would. However, it did cleanse and condition well.
 
I think my hair growth rate has increased. I've been using topical and internal growth aids consistently since December so that has to be helping. I'm at week 6 of my crochet braids and it looks how it usually looks at week 8. I'll do an unofficial length check when I take them down this month. But my official one will be in June when I flat iron my hair.

I fully intend to be BSL by the end of the year.
 
SweetestChick said:
Last night used my split ender finally. It wasn't hard to use, but it was a longer process than anticipated. You really have to section off thin parts of hair or the gadget will start pulling on your hair a little.
At first in my mind I thought if I'm taking off .25" at a time and I have to go over my hair 3 times, I'll lose nearly an inch! Lol but I couldn't really see a difference thank God. It only gets the damaged/split ends. It will pass over the healthy hair, not cut it.

Also I am still doing my sub affirmations, each night when I go to sleep. I'm trying a different video this time since the previous didn't do as much as expected after a week. Lord help me with my patience lol. But I'm gonna stick this one out it does seem to do more for me. Let's see how things play out next month for our 1st check in...
Click to expand...

Do you have a direct link where you bought your split ender?
 
Fotchygirl said:
Oh my! Where have I been? I missed all the excitement! Congrats @Prettymetty on exceeding your goal for this challenge. What wouldyou say was the game changer for you?
Click to expand...
Thanks!

Xcel21 definitely helped boost my growth rate and the keratin treatment made retention better than ever. Also not being lazy and pushing back wash days. My hair gets super dry and brittle if I go longer than a week without washing/wetting it.

Now that I'm closing in on my final goal I want to start wearing my hair straight more. That means no more Xcel for a while. I'm currently using an essential oil blend with grapeseed oil, lavender, peppermint and rosemary oil.
 
Prettymetty said:
Thanks!

Xcel21 definitely helped boost my growth rate and the keratin treatment made retention better than ever. Also not being lazy and pushing back wash days. My hair gets super dry and brittle if I go longer than a week without washing/wetting it.

Now that I'm closing in on my final goal I want to start wearing my hair straight more. That means no more Xcel for a while. I'm currently using an essential oil blend with grapeseed oil, lavender, peppermint and rosemary oil.
Click to expand...

@Prettymetty, get the Xcel 21 cream. I use it when my hair is straight instead of the spray and have no issues with reversion.
 
Tonight I hope to use the left over henna treatment I have in the fridge. I added just small amount of dry henna to it to make sure it's enough for all my roots.

I have it warming up in a hot cabby for about 90 minutes and will be sleeping with it on my hair overnight. I want to cut some of my hair treatment day tomorrow in half so I can get out earlier to do my Saturday runs.

Tomorrow I plan to:

Indigo my hair....maybe if I have time
R/O Condition with Redken Color Extend Conditioner
Shampoo with either the last of some Pureology Hydrating poo or Brocato Swell Volume Full Body Shampoo - most likely the latter though
Deep Moisturized Conditioning with APB Ultra Conditioning Souffle
Leave-in with NG Hibiscus and Honey
 
 
I haven't been on the hair side in a hot minute! This is mostly because I haven't been really giving a **** about my hair. It's been in cornrows under a weave or wig since December 10th. So it's been doing long stints in these cornrows. Whatever...hopefully the low manipulation helps to retain, but I'm not very hopeful. lol

Anyway, @Prettymetty congrats on MBL! You're almost waist, so I'm sure you'll make it by end of year. Make sure you post in the 2017 WL challenge when you do.
 
This morning I washed out my henna treatment and decided not to indigo it today. I ended up using up my Bekura Vanilla Whiskey Deep Conditioner to cowash out my henna because it did a better job than my Redken Color Extend. I don't have any cheapy conditioners in my stash at the moment so I had to use what I do have.

I have the last of the Vanilla Whiskey DC on my hair right now mixed in with some APB UCS as my deep conditioner. I don't have a whole of time for washing my hair today and that is why I combined them to make the perfect moisture/protein DC.

I'll DC with this for about 30 minutes with some heat, leave-in and head out the door in a couple of hours hopefully.
 
Froreal3 said:
I haven't been on the hair side in a hot minute! This is mostly because I haven't been really giving a **** about my hair. It's been in cornrows under a weave or wig since December 10th. So it's been doing long stints in these cornrows. Whatever...hopefully the low manipulation helps to retain, but I'm not very hopeful. lol

Anyway, @Prettymetty congrats on MBL! You're almost waist, so I'm sure you'll make it by end of year. Make sure you post in the 2017 WL challenge when you do.
Click to expand...
Thanks @Froreal3. I will update in the Waist length challenge after my bkt/trim in 2 weeks. I need to get rid of an inch, maybe 2... After that I'll be back on the grow until December.
 
Fotchygirl said:
Ladies am I the only one whose hair comes out when I m&s? Granted I keep it in braids for most of the time but it just feels like it sheds too much!
Click to expand...

I don't really moisturise and seal my hair, outside of wash day so there is always a fair bit of shedding then lol (ETA: and I finger detangle 99.9% of the time, so there is potential to see more). Do you wash your hair in loose sections? Idk, how long do you keep your hair in braids? How often do you m&s between washes? Maybe you could take pics of the amount?
 
Last edited:
Fotchygirl said:
Ladies am I the only one whose hair comes out when I m&s? Granted I keep it in braids for most of the time but it just feels like it sheds too much!
Click to expand...
I lose like 3 or 4 strands per section every time I moisturize and seal and I don't think that is a lot at all. But I know what you mean - I don't like to see any hair coming out at all :nono:. I moisturize sometimes daily but mostly every other day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Prettymetty
2016 Bsl/mbl Challenge
36 37 38
Replies
1K
Views
86K
Daina
D
SingBrina
BSL 2014 Challenge
Replies
4
Views
2K
MayaNatural
MayaNatural
Prettymetty
BSL/MBL 2015 Challenge
50 51 52
Replies
2K
Views
137K
bluenvy
bluenvy
B
2017 Shoulder Length Challenge
36 37 38
Replies
1K
Views
92K
faithVA
faithVA
Duchess007
BSL/MBL 2014 Challenge
69 70 71
Replies
2K
Views
250K
Duchess007
Duchess007
Back
Top